The Priming Of Angle Learning On Mental Rotation And Its Age Differences

This paper probed into the priming of angle learning on mental rotation, age differences of the priming and the role of strategies on mental rotation, so as to enhance people's mental rotation ability to provide a number of methods and measures.Taking the letter R stimulus and the hand stimulus as experimental materials, 30 seventh grade students and 30 young adults were studied on two experiments. This paper explored the following problems: (1) The priming of angle learning on mental rotation based on two different kinds of stimulus; (2) Differences between adults and seventh grade students in the priming; (3) Strategies of mental rotation and their effects on the priming effect.The result of studies as follows:1. For both experiments, the results indicated that the degree of rotation did have an effect, i.e., the performance decreased as the degree of rotation increased.2. When the letter R stimulus as experimental materials, adults and the seventh grade students showed significant differences in the mental rotation ability. When the hand stimulus as experimental materials, age differences did not exist.3. In the first experiment, the letter R stimulus as experimental materials, angle learning significantly promoted mental rotation to the seventh grade students, but not to adults. Further, there are differences between adults and seventh grade students in the priming. In the second experiment, the hand stimulus as experimental materials, no significant priming effect on mental rotation test was found, either for adults or the seventh grade students.4. Strategies play an important role in mental rotation and the priming effect. In the first experiment, both adults and the seventh grade students used allocentric reference frame, but they are different on methods. In the second experiment, both adults and the seventh grade students used egocentric reference frame, and they use the same methods.